Big boost for J&K: Rs 10,637 cr for roads and tunnels, long-awaited Peer Ki Gali tunnel approved

Kashmir (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The Central government on Monday approved 19 major road and tunnel projects worth Rs 10,637 crore for Jammu and Kashmir. Among these, a long-awaited tunnel on the historic Mughal Road, connecting Shopian in the Valley with Poonch in Jammu, has received special attention.

Once constructed, the tunnel at Peer Ki Gali will make the 84-km Mughal Road an all-weather route, which will offer an alternative to the frequently closed Srinagar-Jammu national highway.

Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took to his social media platform X to share the development and called it a "major achievement".

The Mughal Road project dates back to the 1970s during the time of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, but progress was slow for decades. It was revived in 2003 under Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and opened to traffic in 2009 during Omar Abdullah’s term. However, despite being functional, the road is currently usable only in summer, as heavy snowfall around Peer Ki Gali and Bafliaz blocks it in winter.

The National Conference government, led by Omar Abdullah, had been actively pushing for a tunnel on the Mughal Road for the past eight months. The Chief Minister said that his government held several rounds of talks with the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to get the project approved. “This tunnel will offer all-season connectivity between Kashmir and Jammu and is important both strategically and commercially,” he was quoted by TOI as saying.

Omar said that ever since he first drove on the Mughal Road in 2009, his party and his government have been advocating for the construction of a tunnel. “We’ve been pursuing this for years, and I am glad it has finally received approval,” he said.

Another major project approved by the centre is the Sadhana Tunnel, which will link Kupwara to the border region of Karnah. This tunnel is estimated to cost Rs 3,330 crore. The J&K CM said he also plans to push for a tunnel project for the remote Gurez Valley in north Kashmir and will raise the issue with the central government soon, TOI reported.

The other projects approved are the Zaznar Shopian section for Rs 852 crore; a four-lane flyover from Lal Chowk to Parimpora for Rs 700 crore; the Trehgam-Chamkote section for Rs 966 crore; a four-lane Magam flyover on the Narbal-Gulmarg section for Rs 445 crore; the Qazigund Bypass for Rs 95 crore; and a two-lane bridge over Rambiara at Shopian for Rs 71 crore.

Both Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and CM Omar Abdullah issued separate statements thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari for greenlighting these major infrastructure projects.